Piston actuated switch



June 2l, 1938. E. F. KETTUNEN PISTON ACTUATED SWITCH Filed July 11, 1935 INVENTOR. Eler Ke italica.

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Patented June 2'1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE PISTON ACTUATED SWITCH Elmer`F. Kettunen, Windsor, Ohio Application July 11, 1935, Serial No. 30,867

4 Claims. (Cl. 20o-82) My invention relates, in general, to piston actuated switches, and more particularly to piston actuated switches that are adapted to control flasher or warning signal lights.

An object 'of my invention is the provision oi a pressure actuated device, taken in combination with a toggle actuated switch having a quick acting arm, wherein there is means provided by the movement of the quick acting arm to control the pressure actuated device.

Another object of my invention is the provision oi an alternately actuated switch that may be utilized to control a dual set oi iiasher or warning lights upon a motor vehicle.

A further object of my invention is to provide for decreasing the frequency at which the dual set of asher lights are operated as the speed of the vehicle increases, and for increasing the frequency at which the dual set of flasher lights are operated as the speed of the vehicle decreases, when the vehicle is running normally on a level road.

Another object of my invention is the ,provision of operating my piston actuating switch by the vacuum developed in the intake manifold oi an internal combustion engine.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of my invention may be had by referring to the iollowing description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which;

Figure l represents a cross-sectional and longitudinal view or" a piston actuated switch embodying the features of my invention;

Figure 2 represents a cross-sectional and transverse view of the piston actuated switch, taken,

along the line 2--2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 represents a fragmentary and crosssectional view of the valve for controlling the reciprocatory movements of the piston actuated device; and

Figure i represents a perspective view ci the toggle switch and valve assembly.

With reference to the drawing, my invention comprises two main parts; namely, the cylinder and piston assembly which is designated generally by the reference character it, and the toggle switch and valve assembly designated generally by the reierence'character il. The cylinder and piston assembly will be described lirst. y

As illustrated, the cylinder is constructed ot a left hand, semi-cylinder il and a right hand, semi-cylinder l2 having their open ends circumferentially joined together, such as indicated by the reference character I9. These two semicylinders l l and l 2 are secured together by means on top of the cylinder.

of a Icentral clamp band i3. The end oftths central clamp band i3 is provided with ears through which a screw il extends and engages the body of the bracket l5 which is mounted Also there are screws it which extend through the central clamp band i3 and threadably yengage the two semi-cylinders il and l2.

The piston comprises a right hand head 2B and a left hand head 2l connected together by a longitudinal member 22. The two piston heads 2@ and 2l are of like construction and in their description the corresponding parts are designated by the same lreference characters. In order to provide a good air tight seal, there is provided a leather gasket that is positioned between each of the piston heads and the cylinder. An end washer 2t is held against the end face of the leather gasket 2t! by means of a screw 25. Each of the piston heads is provided with a circumferential groove in which is mounted a spring 2li that resiliently presses the leather gasket it against the inside surface wall of the cylinder. rlhis construction provides a good air tight sealso as to` obtain eicient operation of the cylinder and piston assemblies. As illustrated, there is provided in each of the piston heads a concentric depression which is lled with grease 2l, so that as the piston is actuated and the grease heated, the said grease tends to flow between the inner lace of the leather gasket 23 u and the end o each ci the piston heads. In this manner the leather gasket 23 is well lubricated so afs to preserve long life and wear. As illustrated, the piston is ioreshortened and thus provides a left hand piston chamber 29 and a right hand piston chamber lll. The reciprocatory movement ci' 'the piston is controlled by the toggie switch and valve assembly indicated generally by the reference character t which will now be described.

The cylinder and the bracket lll which is mounted thereon are provided with an opening it along its upper edge through which the lowermost part ci the toggle switch and the valve assembly il extends into the cylinder. integrally connected to the body bracket lli is an upright against which the cup-shaped valve lll slides. .As illustrated best in Figure 4, the toggle switch and valve assembly comprises in general a saddle 5t, a swinging arm ll, an oscillatory oiset lever and a spring 5?. The saddle lill may be constructed of a metal stamping and comprises two oppositely disposed sides 5l and t2 which extend into the cylinder. The lower edges of the two sides 5l and 52 is provided with a small recess into which the shoulders 56 and 51 of the oscillatory offset lever 54 engage, there byestablishing a fulcrum for the oscillatory oiset lever 54. 'I'he lower'end of the oscillatory oiset lever 54 is bent in the form of a loop 55 which fits into the socket 3| ci the longitudinal member 22 that interconnects the two heads of the piston. The swinging arm 49 is provided at its lower end with two notches 66 and 61 which rest respectively upon two outwardly extended tabs 64 and 65 of the saddle 50. These tabs provide the fulu crum for the swinging arm 49. Extending across the sides of the swinging arm 49 is a pin 62 to which the upper end of the spring 48 is attached. The lower end of the spring 48 is hooked into an opening 63 provided in the upper end of the oscillatory offset lever 54. The entire unit as shown in Figure liis resiliently held together by the spring 58. Therefore, in mounting or dis mounting the toggle switch and valve assembly 9, it may be inserted or removed as a unit. The swinging arm 49 may be constructed of a metal stamping in which the two upper switch tabs 12 and 13 may be formed during the stamping operation. Attached respectively to the two switch tabs 12 and 13 are switch contact points 15 and 14 which alternately engage two similarly constructed switch arms 16 that are mechanically connected to, but insulated from, the saddle 50 and the body bracket I5. The right hand contact arm 16 is provided with a lower horizontal, portion that is held between the two blocks of insulation 18 and 19, by means of the screws 80, which screws also hold the saddle 50 to the upper side of the bracket I5. The lower end of the right hand contact arm 16 extends to the right of the insulating blocks r18 and 19 to form a terminal connection 84 which may be connected in circuit relation with a lamp of a dual flasher system. The left hand contact arm 16 is provided with a lower horizontal portion and is held between the two insulating blocks 8| and 62 by means of the screws 83 which screws also hold the saddle 50 against the upper part of the bracket I5. The lower left hand end of the contact arm 16 extends to the left of the two insulating blocks 8| and 83 and forms a terminal 85 which may be connected in circuit relation with a lamp of a dual flasher system. The common connection of the dual asher system may be connected to the terminal 86 which is electrically connected to the swinging arm 49 through means of a body bracket I6 and the saddle 50.

As illustrated; the Yrearward side of the swinging arm 49 is provided with an opening 69 and the iront side of the swinging arm is provided with an opening 10. Extending through these two openings is the valve stem 68 of the cupshaped valve 41. The clearance between the valve stem 68 and the opening 69 is quite close, but the clearance between the reduced and free end of the valve stem 68 and the opening 1U is quite large so that the face of the cup-shaped valve 41 may be free to adjust itself relative to the flat sliding surface 46 of the upright body bracket 36. A spring 1I is interposed between the cup-shaped valve 41 and the rearward side of the swinging arm 49. This spring 1I resiliently presses the face of the cup-shaped valve 41 against the flat surface 48 of the upright bracket 36.

As illustrated best in Figures 1 and 2, the upright body bracket 36 is provided with a duct 31 that is adapted to be connected in communication 'with a hose 4I which is, in turn, connected to the intake manifold ci an internal 'combustion engine. At the top of the duct 31, there is pro vided a fitting 39 having a restriction 38 into which is threadably attached a nipple 40 over which the hose 4I is connected. The lower end of the duct 31 terminates in an opening 44 in the face 48 oi the upright bracket 36, spaced to the left of the opening 44 is an opening 45 which rearwardly extends through the upright bracket 36 and which is connected in communication with the left hand piston chamber 29 by means of a tube 43 and a `litting 59 having a restriction. See Figure 3. By means of similar construction, there is spaced to the right oi the opening 44, an opening 46 which is connected in communica tion with the right hand piston chamber 38 by means of a tube 42.

A cover 81 may be employed to keep the working parts of the toggle switch and valve assem- `bly 9 free of dirt and other foreign particles. The lower edge of the cover B1 may rest upon a suitable flange provided in the edge of the bracket I5. The upper flat central part oi the cover 81 may be provided with an opening through which the fitting 39 may extend and allow the flange of the said fitting 39 to hold the cover 81 against the upper end of the upright bracket 36. The cover 61 may also be provided with slits through which the tubes 42 and 43 may pass when inserting or removing the cover. The entire assembly may be mounted upon, but inl sulated from, any suitable part of the motor vehicle. To accomplish this mounting, the bracket mounting 88 which is adapted to be connected to the motor vehicle has its upper end connected to a block of insulation 89 by means of screws 9i. The insulated block 89 is in turn connected to the upright body bracket 36 by means of the screws 90. The entire assembly isinsulated from the motor vehicle for the reason that the common terminal 86 is electrically connected to the bracket I5.

In the operation of my device, let it be assumed that thehose 4I is connected to the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine and that the position of the swinging arm 49 is the same as that shown in Figure 1. In this position, the opening 44 is connected in communication with the opening 45 through means of the cup-shaped valve 41. This means that the left hand piston chamber 29 is connected in communication with the vacuum of the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and that the right hand piston chamber 3D is connected to atmosphere through the opening 46. Therefore, the piston is urged to the left as shown in Figure 1. As the piston proceeds to the left, the oscillatory oilset lever 54 is rotated in a clockwise direction about the fulcrums 56 and 51. This means that the upper end of the oscillatory offset lever 54 swings to the right. As the upper end of the oscillatory offset lever 54 swings to the right beyond a certain point, the spring 58 snaps the swinging arm 49 to the right thereby connecting the opening 46 in communication with the opening 44. Under this condition the right hand piston chamber 30 1s connected in communication with the vacuum of the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and the opening 45 is connected in communication with the atmosphere. Under this condition, the piston is urged' to the right, and as it reaches a certain point, the swinging arm 49 swings to the left being in the position shown in Figtuie l.

nfle) lli:

vThis oscillatory action continues so long as the device is connected in communication with the vacuum of the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine. The rate of the oscillatory motion may be adjusted by using a fitting 39 having the correct size of restriction 38. If the restriction is small the action will beslow, and if large the action will be fast. The action of the swinging arm 49 is quite quick by reason of the snap action of the toggle arrangement. Therefore, when my device is connected in circuit relation with a dual flasher system, the arrangement is such that in the left hand position of the swinging arm 49 such asrshown in Figure 1, one set of the dual flasher lights is connected in circuit relation with the terminal 85 and the common terminal 86, and when the swinging arm 49 is in the right hand position, the other set of the flasher lights is connected in circuit relation with the terminal 8f3 and the common terminal 86.

inasmuch as my device is connected in communication with the vacuum of the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine, the action oi my invention is such that, when the motor vehicle is running normally and on a level road, the frequency at which the dual sets of flasher lights are operated decreases as the speed of the vehicle increases and, such thatthe frequency at which the dual sets of -asher lights are operated increases as the speed of the motor vehicle decreases. rlhis means that when a car is slowing down, the dual set of asher or warning lights icker faster than they will when the car is increasing in speed. This gives the maximum degree of weaning when it is most needed.

Although have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement or" parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

l claim as my invention:

l. ln combination, a cylinder having an opening, a ioreshortened piston having two heads mounted in the cylinder, thereby making a piston pressure chamber on opposite ends of the piston, a longitudinal member for connecting the two piston heads together, a toggle actuated switch assembly having a saddle, a quick acting switch arm pivotally mounted on the saddle, and an oscillatory member for actuating the quick acting switch arm, means for mounting the saddle upon the cylinder and having a portion extend inside the cylinder-through the said opening, means for actuating the oscillatory member by the said longitudinal member, thereby actuating the quick acting switch arm in accordance with the movements of the piston, a valve for controlling the pressure in the piston chambers, and

means for-actuating the valve by the quick acting arm.

2. In combination, a pressure actuated device having a housing and a movable part mounted therein and actuated by the pressure therein, a toggle actuated switch assembly having a saddle, a quick acting switch arm pivotally mounted on the saddle, an oscillatory member for actuating .the quick acting switch arm, means for mounting the saddle upon the pressure actuated device and having a portion extend inside the housing, said oscillatory member pivotally engaging the saddle inside of the housing, means for actuating the oscillatory member by the said movable part, thereby actuating the quick acting switch arm in accordance with the movements of the movable part, a valve for controlling the pressure in the pressure actuated device, and -means for actuating the valve by the quick acting arm.

3. In combination, a pressure actuated device having a housing and a movable part mounted in said housing and actuated by the pressure therein, fulcrum means supported by the pressure actuated device, a switch having a quick acting switch arm mounted outside of the housing and pivotally engaging the fulcrum means, a second fulcrum means supported by the pressure actuated device, an oscillatory member pivotally engaging the second fulcrum means and extending into said housing, resilient means interconnecting the oscillatory member and the quick acting switch arm, so that movement of the oscillatory member causes the resilient means .to actuate the quick acting switch arm, means for actuating the oscillatory member by the said movable part, thereby actuating the quick acting switch arm in accordance with the movements of the said movable part, a valve for controlling the pressure in the pressure actuated device, and means for actuating the valve by the quick acting switch arm.

4. In combination, a pressure actuated device having a housing and a movable part mounted in said housing and actuated by the pressure therein, a fulcrum member mounted on the housing, said fulcrum member having two fulcrum means, a switch having a quick acting switch arm pivotally engaging one of said fulcrum means, an oscillatory member pivotally engaging the other oi said iulcrum means, means for actuating the oscillatory member by the said movable part, resilient means interconnecting the oscillatory member and the quick acting switch arm, thereby causing the movements of the oscillatory member and the resilient means to actuate the quick acting switch arm in accordance with the movements of the said movable part, a valve for controlling the pressure in the pressure actuated device, and means for actuating the valve by the quick acting switch arm.

ELMER. F. KETIUNEN. 

